New Holland Hurricanes coach hopes to bring women’s hockey program to next level
- reegmacaulay
- Nov 18, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 27, 2023
November 18, 2023
Brody Irving said his goals as the new Holland Hurricanes women's hockey head coach are to bring the program to the next level, improve player fitness and community involvements, and grow female hockey on P.E.I.
(Reegan MacAulay)
Brody Irving moved to Prince Edward Island in 2017, after spending his childhood playing minor hockey in Calgary.
One day shortly after he arrived, he was contacted by one of his cousins.
“He needed help with one of his teams, a bantam U15 team. I came out on the ice and started developing and building from there,” Irving said.
For several years, he coached teams at the U15 and U18 levels.
Eventually, after taking Hockey Canada high performance programs, he was awarded a certificate, allowing him to coach a U14 male hockey team in the Hockey PEI’s high-performance program.
“It’s (all been) a great outreach to the community. As someone new (to the island), it’s been great to get to meet new people, parents, and coaches, and help develop kids,” Irving said.
Earlier this year, Irving wanted to try something different.
Lucky for him, a head coach position opened at the college level with the Holland College Hurricanes women’s hockey team in the Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association.
Irving had never been involved in women’s hockey.
“I didn’t know what kind of programs were out there. I knew about the professional leagues, but they were never promoted well.
“Over the last few years, I started to notice the growth (within the sport),” Irving said.
That was certainly the case on P.E.I.
In 2022, Hockey PEI joined a major-U18 league that originally featured only New Brunswick and Nova Scotia teams.
Earlier this year, P.E.I.’s Eastern Stars team was ranked top-10 in all of Canada for major-U18 female hockey.
Canoe Cove’s Sarah MacEachern went from playing minor hockey to representing Hockey Canada and committing to Cornell University in New York.
The Holland Hurricanes were just coming off winning their first ACHA championship since 2016.
The sport’s growth and the Hurricanes’ success convinced Irving to reach out to the team.
“It’ll be a good, new challenge,” he thought.
When Irving was hired, he immediately discovered issues behind the scenes.
Players lacked proper conditioning and the recruitment process was a mess, he said.
An exhibition game against the Mount Academy U19 Saints a few weeks ago proved the conditioning problem – the Hurricanes were run over.
Fortunately for Irving, he works in Holland College’s physiotherapy clinic, allowing easy and daily access to players.
“Being on campus all the time (helps). I can also go and evaluate their workouts,” he said.
Irving also has set goals of having players consistently go to the gym.
Recruiting wise, the team may have won a championship last year, but historically, they were never strong.
The team won the ACHA championship in 2016, but between then and their 2023 championship, their on-ice performances and social media presence were lackluster.
Irving wasted no time upon his arrival as he has recruited multiple talents from the Hockey PEI system, including a former UPEI Panthers player, Taylor Gillis.
Gillis played for the Panthers for over four years and was a top scorer multiple times in the Atlantic University Sport’s women’s hockey league.
“In terms of (impacting) gameplay, Gillis will be heavily relied on,” Irving said.
In addition to improving player conditioning and recruitments, Irving wants to bring the hockey program to the next level – being competitive nationally.
The Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association has never had a team participate nationally.
According to Irving, provinces, including Quebec and Manitoba, have expressed interest in hosting national college hockey tournaments, but nothing has come to fruition.
Irving hopes a strong season for the Hurricanes will progress talks down the line and get the team involved at the national level.
“If we’re thinking that we’re going to be a team that can compete nationally, we really have to do very well in (the ACHA).
“Just keep improving right now, keep building on our practices and our fitness,” he said.
Irving will also make sure the team not only grows on the ice but also off the ice.
“We’re going to do study halls together and make sure we’re going to community outreach programs and minor hockey team practices to keep the younger generation engaged,” he said.
Jacy McMillan, a player in her final year of eligibility, has been enjoying Irving’s arrival, since the departure of former head coach Meagan Ferguson.
“Obviously it’s been different without Ferguson, everyone misses her. But Brody and (assistant coaches) Dillon and Jenna are great. They definitely know what they’re doing and they all have lots of experience,” McMillan said.
Emma Arsenault, the team’s starting goaltender, agreed.
“Brody is a great coach and we’re making a lot of connections in the dressing room and on the ice,” Arsenault said.
Brody Irving instructs a drill to Holland Hurricanes women's hockey players at a practice in Crapaud, P.E.I. prior to the team's home-opening weekend doubleheader.
(Reegan MacAulay)
The Hurricanes begin the 2023-24 ACHA season on Saturday, Nov. 18 and Sunday, Nov. 19 with games at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown.
It’ll be a 2023 championship rematch doubleheader against the Acadia University Axewomen.
Irving expects close games.
“Based on what I’ve seen of our girls and watching recent Acadia games, I think they will be competitive and hard-fought,” Irving said.
McMillan said the player and coach changes will make things challenging, but she sees the upcoming weekend as a good learning period.
“It’ll be a good team builder for us. It’ll be good to set the pace for the year,” McMillan said.
Arsenault expects Acadia to be aggressive and come out strong after going undefeated in the last regular season but losing the championship.
“They’re gonna want it back. They will want to win it this year so we’ll have to prepare for that,” Arsenault said.
UPDATE: The Hurricanes tied 0-0 and lost 4-0. A Brody Irving interview prior to the games PLUS full broadcast replays of the games can be found below.
Follow the Holland Hurricanes women's hockey team at https://twitter.com/canesWhockey and https://www.instagram.com/caneswhockey.
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